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Barcelona Catalunya
FP12d 9h
Audi CEO Gernot Dollner said he wants âstabilityâ in Formula 1âs power unit rules, amid reports of a proposed change to the 2027 split between the internal combustion engine and battery. Dollner said: "Our perspective really is to have stability there. That's our clear view with entering new, this is one reason, and the other reason is that we have to be cost-efficient. That's the most important aspect from our side, to have the cost cap in mind... we are happy with stability."
Colton Herta says he feels ready for his first official Formula 1 session as he prepares to run in first practice for Cadillac at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, replacing Sergio Perez for the session as part of four planned FP1 outings in 2026. Herta said: "I'm excited for Barcelona. I feel ready to get out there. I've had time in the simulator at Charlotte, learning the track and the procedures to follow during the session. I've also been working with the team at Silverstone and at the track over the past few races, following how they work so I can get up to speed as quickly as possible."
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella says Oscar Piastriâs pit-lane speeding penalty in the Monaco Grand Prix may have been triggered by âshortcuttingâ the white lines on pit entry. Stella said: "At the first look, we did not understand either. We think it might come from shortcutting too much. I think that's the hypothesis at the moment. We know that sometimes when you shortcut too much, this may induce you to be measured in excess of the speed limiter, but we don't know more at the moment."
BYD has stepped up its exploration of a possible future Formula 1 role after holding Monaco Grand Prix weekend meetings with F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali and FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem. PlanetF1 first reported that BYD vice-president Stella Li met Domenicali on Friday, with talks with Ben Sulayem following on Saturday, while Christian Horner remains a possible part of any discussions after earlier contact. Li said BYD is looking broadly at how it could work with the sport: âWe are seeking any opportunity to see if BYD technology can help FIA, can help all other teams.â
Williams academy driver Luke Browning says Williamsâ early-season struggles can be âvaluableâ for his own development as he supports the teamâs work behind the scenes. Browning said: "I think sometimes struggle is the best place to learn. And for me, the understanding why maybe it's not quite gone perfectly, and how to improve, and then understanding that in the simulator, seeing the development path, and then going through this journey is just so valuable for me."
Fernando Alonso says Aston Martinâs car will âchange dramaticallyâ once the team brings a major upgrade package later in the season, after a difficult start to 2026 and its first point of the year in Monaco. Alonso said: "Each circuit exposed some of our weaknesses in the car, but the good thing is that it brings a very good understanding of what action is needed in each of the areas for the second part of the year. The package that we will try to bring will try to tackle those problems at once rather than individually, so I have full faith and trust in the team because our impression and feeling is that the car will change dramatically from what we are facing now. We just need to wait another four or five races."
Fernando Alonso said Aston Martin took âzero positivesâ from the Monaco Grand Prix and that each race so far this season has exposed a different weakness in its package. Alonso said: "Zero positives from this weekend. I think every circuit exposed some of our weakness in the car."
Mercedes head of trackside engineering Andrew Shovlin said the team failed to tell George Russell to stay in the fast lane when the Safety Car went through the pit lane, which led to Mercedes missing the five-second penalty Russell needed to serve. Shovlin said: "What we failed to do was get the message to George to stay in the fast lane. Although we told George to stay out, when they came through the pit lane, he saw his tyres, we didn't have time to get a message to him to stay in the fast lane, and because he assumed that they were for him, he pulled into the box. Because the mechanics weren't expecting him, they weren't ready to serve the penalty."
Toto Wolff says he had mixed feelings about representing Mercedes on the podium after Kimi Antonelliâs Monaco Grand Prix win, with George Russell enduring another difficult race. Wolff said: "I haven't gone to a podium for 10 years because it's always difficult to balance between one side of the garage being happy, the other one not. Today I couldn't avoid it because the board member that I wanted to go to has said he needs to catch a flight, and then the team said, you've got to go, it's the home place. While standing there, I'm always with mixed feelings."
Cadillac team principal Graeme Lowdon said it was a âreal shameâ Sergio Perezâs Monaco Grand Prix recovery drive was undone by a post-race penalty that dropped him out of the points. Graeme Lowdon said: "After the red flag restart, Checo drove fantastically well to make up several positions on the road â it was a real shame that the penalty dropped us back as he fought like he was going for the win,"
Toto Wolff said Mercedes were surprised by Kimi Antonelliâs pace as the Italian won the Monaco Grand Prix from pole and completed his first Formula 1 grand slam by leading every lap and taking the fastest lap. Toto Wolff said: "We were surprised ourselves about that speed. He was, you know, the laps he was pulling in the times, they were two seconds faster than the McLarens, and a solid plus one second faster than Ferrari. And it was like clockwork. Why that is on a track that we would have not considered to be our strengths before the weekend, I don't know."
Pierre Gasly says he knew during the late red flag at the Monaco Grand Prix that his pitlane speeding penalties would cost him a podium, and that his third-place celebration on the cooldown lap was sarcastic. Pierre Gasly said: "I knew the situation when we stopped for the red flag and I just tried to push as hard as I could to maximise the end result, knowing the penalty was going to be applied."
Max Verstappen says Red Bullâs strong Monaco qualifying pace should not be mistaken for a turning point in the season, despite him lining up second on the grid and fighting for pole position. Verstappen said: "You always have to run the car reasonably soft here in terms of set-up and suspension. In that area, it was better, but it is still our limitation when it comes to going faster. In that respect, I'm still a bit surprised that we were ultimately fighting for pole position. Of course, we changed a few things after the third practice session, but it wasn't that much."
Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies said the team has identified the issue that forced Max Verstappen to retire from the Monaco Grand Prix, and that his first power unit of the season had been due to be changed after the race anyway. Mekies said: "We have identified what the issue is. It developed on the formation lap and it gave him or us no chance. As you may be aware, it was also the very first PU of Max this season, which was planned to be changed after Monaco."
Andrea Kimi Antonelli says he is determined not to let the pressure of the Formula 1 title fight âdestroyâ him again, after his Monaco Grand Prix win extended his championship lead. Antonelli said: "I try to embrace the pressure as much as possible, because I don't want to let the pressure destroy me like it did last year in the European season. So, of course I try to embrace the pressure, the challenge, and I try to enjoy it as much as possible without worrying about anything else other than just driving."
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella says the team has felt âon the back footâ as a Mercedes customer in 2026 because it has fewer opportunities than a works team to integrate and stay aligned when addressing power unit reliability and performance. Stella said: "Never before we felt that being a customer team has put us on the back foot. And when I say this, and I want to be clear here, to avoid any misunderstanding, it's not because you are a lower priority for [Mercedes] HPP. [It is] because you have less opportunities to integrate, to stay on the same timeline when it comes to addressing reliability problems or exploitation of the power unit from a performance point of view."
Lewis Hamilton said he begged Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur for âcertain changesâ over the off-season and believes he is now seeing the benefits, after finishing second in last weekâs Monaco Grand Prix. Hamilton said: "Fred has been awesome in supporting me. Last year was really tough for both of us, and [I have been] begging him for certain changes, and he pulled through. He did those and now I'm seeing the fruits of that and I'm able to finally deliver for them."
Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies says the team understood Isack Hadjarâs angry radio messages during the Monaco Grand Prix because the driver was dealing with a significant loss of power and related knock-on effects as he finished third. Mekies said: "It's always very difficult for the driver in the car to understand what's going on. In that case he could not know exactly how much engine power he was losing. The implication of that loss of ICE power on the rest of the management is massive for the way these power units are working. We understand the emotions."
Mercedes has confirmed Kimi Antonelli will sit out first practice for this weekendâs Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, with reserve driver Frederik Vesti taking his seat. The change forms part of F1âs 2026 requirement for teams to run a rookie in four FP1 sessions across the season, with Williams and Cadillac also announcing FP1 driver swaps for Barcelona.
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